Reusable modular composite panel form system

ABSTRACT

A reusable building foundation system assembled from a plurality of modular composite panels forming the outside and inside containment barriers for a form fill concrete foundation or wall. The panels are removably engageable by an interconnection frame along the vertical edge( 2 ) of each panel having through holes( 9 ) providing for fastening with threaded devices. The horizontal top-line( 3 ) and bottom-line( 4 ) of each inside panel interconnects with the opposing top-line( 3 ) and bottom-line( 4 ) of the outside panel via snap on metal connector bands( 6,11 ) allowing for adjustment of the width and angle of the wall while increasing rigidity to the entire form system. Each panel is constructed and arranged having first a core of rigid, light, and durable medium such as balsa wood or rigid foam shaped into structural support ribs then covered in a coating of fiberglass and resin making for a light, durable and easily transportable system.

CROSS-REFERENCED TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is based on and claims priority to the U.S. Provisional Applications No. 60/395,216 filed Jun. 12, 2002.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

[0002] The proposed invention was not federally sponsored research and development.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] 1. Technical Field

[0004] The invention relates to a system for constructing foundations and walls from poured concrete. The system is lighter than conventional wood panel forms. Assembly before pouring concrete is simplified due to the easy to connect bands and threaded fasteners. Take down or stripping the forms after set-up takes a fraction of the time of conventional forms because the top-line bands quickly pop off allowing for the release of the panels. The panels do not adhere to the concrete due to the frictionless smooth surface of the interior of the panel. The panels are stripped from the setup concrete, washing with brush and water remove any residuary material prepping the panels for the next use.

[0005] 2. Description of Related Art

[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 1,083,289, issued to Arthur J. Mason on Jan. 6, 1914, describes a method of building concrete dock walls. The method includes sinking heavy reinforced concrete wall sections using the weight of the next section to sink the previous section.

[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 2,741,342, issued to Nicholas L. Etten on Apr. 10, 1956, describes a wall construction having opposing metal panels mounted on either side of a frame.

[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 3,751,867, issued to Melvin E. Layne on Aug. 14, 1973, describes a concrete-reinforced wall having two parallel sheets separated by metal rods, having metal tabs protruding from the sheets to bear against adjoining panels, and filled with concrete.

[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 3,884,646, issued to James T. Kermey on May 20, 1975, describes a structural panel and method of fabrication. The panel comprises a pair of parallel sheets, and a pyramidal, skeletal structure therebetween.

[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,171, issued to Don A. Cargill, Paul M. Corp, and Lloyd M. Forster on Sep. 16, 1975, describes a building panel comprising a pair of parallel plywood panels joined by sheet metal truss stampings. The sheet metal stampings have barbs or prongs to penetrate the panels, securing them together.

[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,234, issued to John A. Wilnau on Jun. 2, 1987, describes a prefabricated wall. The wall sections are made from parallel plywood panels connected by hollow cylindrical spacers. Interior panels define a central section for insulation, and an outer section for concrete. Vertical braces are permanently attached to the outside of the plywood panels, and horizontal braces are temporarily attached during concrete pouring and drying.

[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,429, issued to David A. Young on Nov. 17, 1987, describes an insulating concrete wall forming structure. The outer panels are made from expandable polystyrene (a closed cell, rigid, lightweight cellular plastic having good strength and insulating properties). The parallel panels are held in position relative to each other by a wall tie comprising 20% calcium carbonate filled polypropylene, fitting into T-shaped slots. The top mad bottom edges have mating male and female cormectors, and the side edges have tongue mad groove connectors. Concrete is poured between the two sections. Water pipes and electrical conduits can be placed between the panels before pouring concrete, or placed in cuts in the panels and covered with drywall or plaster.

[0013] U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,792, issued to Claude C. Louis on Jan. 12, 1988, describes a prefabricated retaining wall for excavations having corresponding male and female elements along the edges for joiuing with other wall elements.

[0014] U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,344, issued to Philippe Durand on Aug. 20, 1991, describes a prefabricated form for a concrete wall. The form comprises expanded polystyrene or polyurethane panels having horizontal stiffeners. The stiffeners of one panel are connected to the stiffeners of the opposing panel. Vertical supports are removably attached to the outside of the panels.

[0015] U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,195, issued to Dan J. Hotek on May 3, 1994, describes a pm˜ially prefabricated coping for the top of a cement retaining wall. The coping, which includes a mold, is placed on top of the wall. Cement is poured into the mold, completing the coping. Reinforcement bars project from the retaining wall into the mold.

[0016] U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,554, issued to Robert K. Barnett, George Hearn, Henrie Henson, and Michael L. McMullen on Oct. 10, 1995, describes a retaining wall having an anchor attached to a horizontally and vertically flexible C-shaped connector.

[0017] U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,970, issued to Chin T. Kim on Oct. 24, 1995, describes a concrete structure and method of manufacture. The structure comprises a pair of parallel concrete panels connected by internal dividing mesh panels. The interior is filled with concrete.

[0018] U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,947, issued to Sun Y. Kim on Feb. 20, 1996, describes a concrete wall comprising a pair of outer shells, each formed from plastic panels which lock together. The interior is then filled with concrete. A cross web coamects the opposing panels at the location of the locking members joining adjacent panels.

[0019] U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,876, issued to Sin-Yuan Lu on Jan. 25, 1996, describes a wall structure comprising a plurality of vertical frames with metal nets welded to the frames. Two opposing frames are counected by zigzag bars welded to the vertical members of the frames. The space between the metal nets is filled with concrete.

[0020] U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,470, issued to J. Thomas Elmore, Alan Veatch, William C. Elements, Victor Elias, mad Longine J. Wojciechowski on Sep. 24, 1996, describes a method of adjustably anchoring traffic barriers and wall facing panels to the soldier beams of a retaining wall. The method uses U-shaped lugs attached to the wall, connected to stirrup bars attached to the soldier beams. The wall comprises panels having mating lips along the edges. Panels are aligned vertically with each other using plastic dowels extending from the top surface of one panel into cones on the bottom surface of another panel. The wall's reinforcement comprises cast-in-place columns, and hoop-shaped reinforcement members extending from the wail into the traffic bma-ier.

[0021] U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,601, issued to Dennis L. Bean, Willinin Newell Brabston, Philip Garcin Malone, Stafford S. Cooper, m˜d Roger H. Jones, Jr., on Aug. 19, 1997, describes a concrete wall having a pair of fiberglass reinforced cement boards, and a corrugated spacer panel therebetween. Rods perpendicular to the outer panels hold the corrugated spacer panel in the proper position. Dowels parallel to the outer walls provide additional rigidity for the spacer panel.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0022] The invention relates to a system for constructing foundations and walls from poured concrete. The system is lighter than conventional wood panel forms. Assembly before pouring concrete is simplified due to the easy to connect bands and threaded fasteners. Take down or stripping the forms after set-up takes a fraction of the time of conventional forms because the top-line bands quickly pop off allowing for the release of the panels. The panels do not adhere to the concrete due to the frictionless smooth surface of the interior of the panel. The panels are stripped from the setup concrete, washing with brush and water to remove any residuary material thus prepping the panels for the next use.

[0023] The principal advantages of the proposed system are the light weight of the panels, quick and easy build-up and take-down, and durability. The panels are more than fifty-percent lighter than wood panels. The system snaps and bolts together in minutes and comes apart faster than it assembles. The frictionless smooth internal surface of the panels allow for quick easy clean-up. The smooth surface also eliminates the need for chemical releasers usually required when using conventional wood forms. With proper care, the panels will not need replacing, unlike the disposable wood panels used in most concrete form applications. The invented system allows for faster build-up, quicker take-down, and immediate clean up at the job site. The light weight of the panels reduces fatigue on laborers.

[0024] The reusable modular composite form system has a variety of applications ranging from building foundations to retaining walls. In one embodiment, the forms are custom fabricated to match specific development plans wherein all of the home foundations are identical. The form panels are custom lengths with numbered identifiers expediting the set up process for concrete foundations.

[0025] History

[0026] Poured concrete foundations and walls have been used for many years. The conventional method for constructing a poured concrete structure would require a build up of formwork consisting of lengths of lumber and plywood sheets. This formwork is temporarily built on sight to provide the form for the poured concrete. The installation of a conventional wood form is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and wasteful of materials.

[0027] The poured concrete mixture has a very high amount of moisture that is absorbed by the wood forms making the lumber heavy, warped, and prevents reuse of much of the wood in the form. Repetitive nailing of the forms creates weak spots in the lengths of lumbar creating safety concerns and probable quality control problems. The rough surface of the wood grain causes adhesion by the concrete mixture to the wood. This increases the weight of the forms and increases the labor expense to scrape the set concrete off of the face of the forms.

[0028] Concrete releasers are often used to treat the conventional wood forms to limit the amount of moisture absorbed by the wood and encourage easier stripping of the forms once the concrete mixture sets. There are environmental concerns for the use of said releasers because most are petroleum based with the most popular releaser being diesel. The uses of petroleum based releasers have been banned in many states, and expensive commercial substitutes are available on the market but the expense of the releaser often times out weighs the economic expense of replacing the wood forms.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029]FIG. 1 is a simplified fragmented top plan for a portion of concrete form foundation apparatus according to the invention. The panels and hardware are assembled and arranged to form an interior and exterior barrier for the cementious concrete mixture, allowing for introduction of the mix via the open top.

[0030]FIG. 2 is a simplified fragmented cross sectional view of the form assembly in FIG. 1 after introduction of the cementious concrete mix.

[0031]FIG. 3 is a simplified fragmented cut-away of one of the panels in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, demonstrating the rigid core medium (this embodiment Balsawood) providing the internal structural component, the fiberglass, roven mat, and resin composite adding to the rigidity of the form and creating the frictionless smooth interior panel surface.

[0032]FIG. 4 is a simplified fragmented top view of the assembly in FIG. 1 demonstrating the threaded fasteners connecting the panels together via the through holes along the frame of the vertical edge of the panels. FIG. 4 demonstrates both top-line and bottom-line band application for determining the width of the concrete foundation or wall.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] The invention relates to a system for constructing foundations and walls from poured concrete. Referring to the drawing in FIG. 1, the panel form system described demonstrates interior and exterior panels having a top-line 3 and bottom-line 4, removably engaged to each other via top-line metal bands 6 and bottom-line metal bands 4, said metal bands being of desired length designating the thickness of the foundation or wall, the structural ribs protruding from the exterior side of the panel 5 providing strength and rigidity, the vertical edge 2 having a frame allowing for end to end coupling of the panels designating the length of the foundation or wall, said vertical edge 2 having through holes 9 to facilitate quick and secure interconnection between panels.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 2 describing the cross sectional view of the form system in use, the structural ribs 5 opposing to the exterior of the concrete foundation or wall having the bottom-line band 11 secured to base/soil 13, said bottom-line band 11 attaching the bottom of the panels providing for a designated concrete foundation or wall width, top-line band with internal tab 12 attaching the top of the panels providing for a designated concrete foundation or wall width, forming a foundation or wall shaped barrier for the cementious concrete mixture 14 to fill and setup as a concrete foundation or wall.

[0035] Referring to FIG. 3 describing the cut away view of the individual form panel having the preferred rigid medium core of the panel balsawood 17, said balsawood being constructed and arranged to form the structural ribs and the center material for the panel, the roven mat and fiberglass material sheathing the balsawood core 15, and the entire assembly saturated and covered in a fiberglass resin 15-17, vertical ends having a frame rail with through holes 9 to facilitate engagement of panels to vertical end to vertical end via threaded fasteners, the panel having a horizontal top-line 3 at the top of the form and horizontal bottom-line on the bottom, the internal side of the panel not having protruding structural ribs is finished to a frictionless smooth finish facilitating easy removal from set concrete and simple brush and water clean up.

[0036] Referring to FIG. 4, describing the top view of the panel form system having the special top-line connector band 6 attaching the horizontal top-line 3 of the first panel to the second panel designating the width of the top of the concrete foundation or wall, the threaded fastener 4-5 removably engaged through the through hole 9 of the vertical edge 2 attaching the panels end to end, the top-line connector band inner punch hole 20 providing support and separation of the horizontal top-line of the panels, the bottom-line connector band 11 permanently attaching to the base/soil and interconnecting the horizontal bottom-line 4 of the panels 

What is claimed is:
 1. A reusable form system for concrete foundation and wall construction comprising: a. first and second transverse form panels spaced equidistant at the vertical ends, having the horizontal top-line and bottom-line of said panels being equidistant, determining the width of the concrete structure, b. interconnection means on the vertical ends of each form panel adapted to be removably engageable with additional form panels as a means for extending the length of the desired concrete structure, c. a plurality of interconnecting metallic bands perpendicularly engaged between the transverse form panels maintaining the determined width and configuration of the concrete structure.
 2. The form panels claimed in claim 1 wherein the form panels are modular in construction comprising: a. a light weight core constructed from a rigid medium shaped into structural ribs and supports, b. a fiber material roven mat, sheathing and wrapping said light weight core, c. a layer of fiberglass resin saturating and impregnating said roven mat and light weight core, d. a vertical frame along the vertical edges of the panels having through holes allowing for attachment to other panels vertical end to vertical end.
 3. The reusable foundation form system in claim 1, wherein the interconnecting metallic bands comprise: a. a plurality of reusable top-line bands and one-time use bottom-line bands attaching to the top, bottom and inside top edges of the form panels, b. the top-line bands constructed from steel strips and bent into a fat upside down U-shape having inner band bracket punch out holes to facilitate c. the length of the top-line bands determines the width at the top of the concrete wall, d. the bottom-line bands constructed from steel strips and bent into a fat U-shape, e. the length of the bottom-line bands determines the width of the bottom or footer of the concrete foundation or wall. f. the bottom-line bands have through holes allowing for secure attachment to earth, wood footers, or concrete via stakes, screws, nails or the like. 